The Kuaishou headquarters is photographed on November 5, 2020 in Beijing, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China – Shares of Chinese short film company Kuaishou rose nearly 200 percent at its opening in Hong Kong.
The technology company raised $ 41.28 billion from Hong Kong ($ 5.32 billion) from the initial public offering (IPO), after listing its shares at $ 115 each in Hong Kong, at the top of its expected range.
Kuaishou shares opened at $ 338 in Hong Kong.
The company’s main activity is a short video application and earns money from users who buy virtual gifts to give to their favorite streamers. Kuaishou is also moving into new areas such as e-commerce.
Kuaishou said his IPO was oversubscribed with high demand. If the so-called globalotment option is exercised, which allows the investment bank to issue more shares, then Kuaishou could raise over $ 6 billion.
Ten cornerston investors led by Capital Group and involving BlackRock and Fidelity have invested in the IPO.
Kuaishou’s listing will be an appetite test for Chinese technology companies, just as Beijing is stepping up its control of the sector in areas from antitrust to data protection. In November, the Chinese government introduced rules on live shopping, which could have an impact on Kuaishou.
The IPO is also another gain for the Hong Kong stock exchange, which has managed to attract high-tech companies and secondary listings. US-listed Chinese companies, including Alibaba and JD.com, have also raised money in Hong Kong. CNBC reported that the Chinese video company Bilibili, listed on the Nasdaq, also submitted a secondary list in Hong Kong.
Kuaishou faces stiff competition in China from rivals such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok owned by ByteDance, and Tencent’s WeChat messaging app.